Which GPS navigation unit should I buy?

2

2 Zero

Elite
 Gone Away
I am looking to buy a portable Gps system for my Travels and there are many choices.
Anybody have an opinion?

TomTom, Magellan, or Garmin?
Model #?
 
I have a TomTom One XL. The next step up offers bluetooth, mp3 player, maps of europe & directions that use street names, so instead of "take the next right" it says "take the next right on Main St.". I didn't want to pay extra for any of those features. I like it a lot and it's very easy to update on the computer. I also like the 4.3" screen. My dad has a Garmin and it's very nice too. I've heard that some Garmin units are quicker at configuring routes.
 
I have a Magellan and while it works really well the Map upgrades are expensive. Almost $100 as I recall. My next GPS will likely be a TomTom.
 
I have a Tomtom and it's very good. I just find it easier to use than the others I've tried. A friend has a Garmin, and keeps saying "oh, I can't do that on mine" when I say things like "just tell it to avoid that part of the route" etc.
 
Mark you know I have the TomTom 300. So far it has not failed us. Check into the xls and see if you can go route by route. I cannot do that on the 300. I know nuvi does. That feature would be great for the rallies we do.
 
I have a Magellan roadmate 700 (with the 760 firmware update) it's nice, does a great job navigating, turn by turn, corrections etc. But like someone said map updates are expensive (I think $90 for this latest one) and my single biggest complaint, they have POI's yes. But not the important ones. My theory on GPS (maybe i'm the only one who uses a GPS for this...) is that a GPS is there for when your in an unfamiliar area and need to get around. Ok, say your on the road in the unfamiliar area and OH NO, you need to see a hospital, clinic, whatever. Your not going with a magellan gps. No sir, Very few hospitals programmed into the GPS. I think the nearest to me now (Vegas mind you) is listed as over 300 miles away.

This would not be such a big complaint, but on a whim I went and looked at Garmin, TomTom, a few other non magellan brands. Almost everyone of them (Garmin and TomTom for sure) had hospitals, they even had clinics, dentists, vets, any kind of medical related clinic/building.

That long ass rant aside, I've not had a single problem with magellan other than the hospital issue. I used it in Europe (had to pay another 100 or so bucks for the Europe map) and it performed flawlessly. Here in Vegas it's lost a little bit of faith (as it doesn't have some areas), but new roads are built in this city every second of every day it seems....so I don't blame the company for that.

All that rambling said, I will most likely buy a Garmin next, the units i've seen seem to be smaller and overall I hear almost all good about Garmin whereas the Magellan not as much.
 
inTgr8r said:
Garmin Nuvi FTW :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

In have the 360 and it is great. Has bluetooth and I can add SD cards. I bought a multi-language guide for it and it came in quite handy in Germany. I also got maps for Europe and once again it was great. It is plug and play. My unit came with North American maps. I love the female Aussie accent that I chose :thumbsup:
 
Oh I might add, my Magellan 700(with 760 upgrade) had everything stored on it's on harddrive. So no plug it in to upload a part of the city/country, nothing like that. It has almost every tiny road too. I was impressed with the little back roads it has. It was/is a great unit, but it's old and lacking hospitals.
 
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